Sunday, 30 November 2014

Concrete jungle...

Ever since I can remember my dad and I planned to celebrate my 21st in the big apple...

He kept his promise, and I couldn't have been more grateful, or received a better gift for my birthday.

As America began to appear through the cloud of mist my excitement grew and grew.

I couldn't believe that after all this planning and preparation, I was finally about to touch down in New York City.

We gathered up our bags in a flurry of excitement and rushed out into the welcoming warm air to be greeted by a sea of yellow taxis eager to take us to wherever we wanted.

It may sound strange, but I was so excited to be in my first yellow cab, and even after a long eight hour flight, I could not resist a quick cab selfie...

especially one with my dad giggling in the background.

We watched eagerly as the famous buildings grew larger as we zoomed closer and closer.

Until we finally pulled up to our jaw-droppingly beautiful hotel...

We were lucky enough to be on the twelfth floor, and as we stepped out of the lift, we were greeted with a spectacular view.

We decided to not waste any time, so just dropped our bags in the room and, like children, excitedly came bundling out of the hotel, ready to begin our New York adventure.

Our hotel was right on the edge of the water, so as we came around the corner, we discovered a lovely harbour, full of incredible Yachts.

And a glass archway, that was too inviting to resist...

Once we wandered in, we realised we had entered a food hall called Le District.

But this wasn't your typical food hall, (well not one that you would simply stumble upon in England), there was not a McDonalds in sight.

As the door opened the sound of live jazz music filled your ears, and the smell was mouth watering.

As the escalator slowly lifted you closer to the smell, cabinets upon cabinets of cupcakes began to appear.

Along with a variety of other food offers.

Pizza, Burgers, Sushi; you name it, it was on offer.

My dad and I promised each other that we would return at some point to indulge, but for now, our stomachs were full on the airplane food and we had somewhere else we needed to be...

We jumped onto the John F. Kennedy ferry and prepared to greet Lady Liberty.

As the port grew smaller and smaller, her beauty grew greater.

And I got rather snap happy, so I apologise for the amount of photos that are about to follow.

For those of you who love scrolling through photos (like me), enjoy...

New York just looked so beautiful emerging out of the water...

We look exhausted.

But we were simply so happy to be together that we didn't even realise how tired we actually were.

After the Ferry, we decided to go and explore as much as we could, without travelling too far away from the hotel.

As we walked, we noticed a very large group of people taking endless photos of each other.

We were slightly curious as to what was occurring, so headed over to see what all the fuss was about.

Then suddenly, the penny dropped, and my dad turned to me announcing that we were in Wall Street and everyone was grabbing the opportunity to have a photo with the famous bull.

After Wall Street, we wandered the streets dipping in and out of shops and searching for somewhere to grab my first drink in America, when we stumbled across the new World Trade Centre.

It towered above all the surrounding buildings and it simply glistened in the sun.

They were also in the process of building a new shopping centre, which to me, had rather a skeletal look about it.

Do you agree?

Now, I am not sure how much of this is true, but I decided I would share it with you anyway, as even if it isn't, I think it's a very poetic idea...

As we were admiring the new World Trade Centre, my dad told me that the building had been designed to reflect the surrounding buildings, so that they appeared to be crumpled and collapsing.

He told me that the idea of this, was to remember what the Twin Towers looked like after they had been hit. To ensure that even though the new building demonstrated strength, power, and resilience, there is always a reminder of the complete devastation that was experienced by people across the world.

Can you see?

We then finally found a bar and clinked to an amazing holiday.

As the sun disappeared our stomachs rumbled and the exhaustion finally hit us.

So we decided to head for food and get an early night.

Where can we get something good to eat, that was quick, and close to our hotel?

hmmm...

Ohh, Le District!

(I told you that we keep our promises)

There was only one thing on our minds, and that was the amazing burgers we had seen earlier.

I took my place at a table as my dad took the order, and eagerly waited his return.

I wasn't disappointed at what I received...

Just look at all that cheesy, onion goodness.

The meat was cooked to perfection, and even the chips were just to die for.

We said goodnight to the twinkling lights surrounding us, and were fast asleep before our heads even hit the pillow.

2 comments:

I hope you had an amazing time. That foo hall place looks amazing and I have never seen anyone blog about it before, hidden treasure! I went to New York last summer and really want to go again with my boyfriend as there was so much I didn't see.xxxwww.labeau.co.uk

I did thanks! I have some more posts to come, but unfortunately University is taking up most of my time. Yes, It is definitely a hidden treasure, slightly expensive, but more than worth what you pay! It is so hard to see everything, I agree, I really want to go back with my boyfriend too! I will keep my fingers crossed that you get to go with him soon! :) xxx